1. Field of the Invention
This invention pertains to the field of the Internet and, more specifically, to a system and method for communicating information over the Internet.
2. Description of the Related Art
To facilitate understanding of the background and preferred embodiments of the invention, the following terms and acronyms are used through this specification:
Client-Server. A model of interaction in a distributed computer system in which a program at one site sends a request to a program at another site and waits for a response. The requesting program is called the xe2x80x9cclient,xe2x80x9d and the program which responds to the request is called the xe2x80x9cserver.xe2x80x9d In the context of the World Wide Web (discussed below), the client is a xe2x80x9cWeb browserxe2x80x9d (or simply xe2x80x9cbrowserxe2x80x9d) which runs on a computer of a user; the program which responds to browser requests by serving Web pages is commonly referred to as a xe2x80x9cWeb server.xe2x80x9d
Dialog Box. A window or box that appears on a display screen to present information and request user input or user data.
Hyperlink. A navigational link from one document to another, or from one portion (or component) of a document to another. Typically, a hyperlink is displayed as a highlighted word or phrase that can be selected by clicking on it using a mouse to jump to the associated document or documented portion.
Hypertext System. A computer-based informational system in which documents (and possibly other types of data entities) are linked together via hyperlinks to form a user-navigable xe2x80x9cWeb.xe2x80x9d
Internet. A collection of interconnected (public and/or private) networks that are linked together by a set of standard protocols(such as TCP/IP and HTTP) to form a global, distributed network. (While this term is intended to refer to what is now commonly known as the Internet, it is also intended to encompass variations which may be made in the future, including changes and additions to existing standard protocols.)
World Wide Web (xe2x80x9cWebxe2x80x9d). Used herein to refer generally to both (i) a distributed collection of interlinked, user-viewable hypertext documents (commonly referred to as Web documents or Web pages) that are accessible via the Internet, and (ii) the client and server software components which provide user access to such documents using standardized Internet protocols. Currently, the primary standard protocol for allowing applications to locate and acquire Web documents is HTTP, and the Web pages are encoded using HTML. However, the terms xe2x80x9cWebxe2x80x9d and xe2x80x9cWorld Wide Webxe2x80x9d are intended to encompass future markup languages and transport protocols which may be used in place of (or in addition to) HTML and HTTP.
Web Site. A computer system that serves informational content over a network using the standard protocols of the World Wide Web. Typically, a Web site corresponds to a particular Internet domain name, such as xe2x80x9cASKFORFREE.COM(copyright),xe2x80x9d and includes the content associated with a particular organization. As used herein, the term is generally intended to encompass both (i) the hardware/software server components that serve the informational content over the network, and (ii) the xe2x80x9cback endxe2x80x9d hardware/software components, including any non-standard or specialized components, that interact with the server components to perform services for Web site users.
HTML (HyperText Markup Language). A standard coding convention and set of codes for attaching presentation and linking attributes to informational content within documents. (HTML 2.0 is currently the primary standard used for generating Web documents.) During a document authoring stage, the HTML codes (referred to as xe2x80x9ctagsxe2x80x9d) are embedded within the informational content of the document. When the Web document (or HTML document) is subsequently transferred from a Web server to a browser, the codes are interpreted by the browser and used to parse and display the document. Additionally in specifying how the Web browser is to display the document, HTML tags can be used to create links to other Web documents (commonly referred to as xe2x80x9chyperlinksxe2x80x9d). For more information on HTML, see Ian S. Graham, The HTML Source Book, John Wiley and Sons, Inc., 1995 (ISBN 0471-11894-4).
HTTP (HyperText Transport Protocol). The standard World Wide Web client-server protocol used for the exchange of information (such as HTML documents, and client requests for such documents) between a browser and a Web server. HTTP includes a number of different types of messages which can be sent from the client to the server to request different types of server actions. For example, a xe2x80x9cGETxe2x80x9d message, which has the format GET , causes the server to return the document or file located at the specified URL (see below).
URL (Uniform Resource Locator). A unique address which fully specifies the location of a file or other resource on the Internet. The general format of a URL is protocol://machine address:port/path/filename. The port specification is optional, and if none is entered by the user, the browser defaults to the standard port for whatever service is specified as the protocol. For example, if HTTP is specified as the protocol, the browser will use the HTTP default port of 80.
The Internet allows users access to a tremendous amount of information and also provides the ability to conduct remote transactions (e.g., E-commerce) via their computers. However, there is a constant challenge to more easily allow users to locate and obtain specific information of interest to them and to conduct electronic transactions.
As is well known, Internet Web pages often include embedded hyperlinks to uniform resource locators (URLs) for other Internet Web pages. When an Internet user viewing a particular Web page xe2x80x9cclicks onxe2x80x9d or selects a hyperlink, the user""s Web browser is directed away from the Web page that the user is currently viewing, and a linked-to Web page is loaded into the Web browser. Accordingly, one technique for an Internet user to locate and obtain information of interest is to navigate from Web page to Web page by clicking embedded hyperlinks.
However, simple navigation from Web page to Web page is typically a very inefficient way for an Internet user to locate and obtain information of interest. Therefore, tools have been developed to facilitate the process.
One tool to help Internet users locate and obtain information of interest is an Internet search engine. An Internet user may access an Internet search engine through a Web site hosting the Internet search engine (e.g., www.yahoo.com). Alternatively, a hyperlink to the Internet search engine may be embedded within any other Web page, (e.g., www.netscape.com). Typically, an Internet search engine includes a search terms entry box into which an Internet user types search terms or keywords via his or her computer. The Web site hosting the Internet search engine then transmits a new Web page to be displayed by a user""s computer display screen containing the results of the Internet search, which it is hoped will assist the user to find the information of interest.
However, there are several problems in these conventional methods of accessing information via the Internet.
One problem is that when a user clicks on a hyperlink, or enters data into a search terms entry box of a host Web page which the user is viewing, the user""s view of the host Web page is altered. Typically, the user""s Web browser is pointed away from the host Web page which the user is viewing, and a new, linked-to, Web page is loaded into the user""s Web browser in place of the host Web page. Alternatively, the user""s computer may open a second Web browser window containing the linked-to Web page, covering the host Web page on the user""s computer display screen. Or, in some cases, a xe2x80x9cpop-up boxxe2x80x9d opens on the user""s computer display screen, covering all or part of the host Web page.
In many cases, the provider of the host Web page does not want to have its host Web page disappear or be covered on the user""s computer display screen, or even to have the user""s attention turned away from the host Web page. This may be the case where the host Web page includes paid advertisement banners and/or paid-for embedded links to other Web pages, such that the provider of the host Web page may lose revenue if the user leaves the host Web page or the host""s Web site.
The above-mentioned problem also applies to a Web page which contains an embedded hyperlink to allow an Internet user to perform a transaction. An example of such a process is described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,029,141. In the process described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,029,141, it is disclosed that Web pages of xe2x80x9cassociatexe2x80x9d Web sites:
xe2x80x9cinclude product-specific hyperlinks, referred to herein as xe2x80x98referral linksxe2x80x99 that allow potential customers to link to the merchant""s Web site to initiate purchases of such products from the merchant.xe2x80x9d
Accordingly, in these conventional systems, when a user wants to execute a transaction, the user""s Web browser is pointed away from the host Web page which the user is viewing, and a new Web page is loaded in its place into the user""s Web browser so that the user may enter user data to complete the transaction.
Another problem is that it is often difficult to get answers to specific xe2x80x9cplain languagexe2x80x9d questions via the Internet. Typically, Internet search engines try to locate Web pages containing specific terms entered into a search terms entry box by an Internet user. The Internet search engine may not distinguish between the various forms of interrogatory posed by the user, e.g., the differences between xe2x80x9cwhen,xe2x80x9d xe2x80x9cwhere,xe2x80x9d and xe2x80x9cwhoxe2x80x9d for example. Also, the Internet search engine typically attempts to satisfy the user""s inquiry by providing the user with a list of hyperlinks to other Web pages where, it is hoped, the answer to the user""s question can be found.
Some Web tools have been developed to help answer specific xe2x80x9cplain languagexe2x80x9d questions. One example can be found at www.askjeeves.com.
For example, FIG. 1 shows an actual xe2x80x9cplain languagexe2x80x9d question entered into a dialog box of a banner provided on a Web page by www.askjeeves.com. The banner of FIG. 1 may be embedded within any Web page for any Internet site. The banner comprises an inquiry dialog box which provides information to a user and also provides a data entry box (e.g., a question box) wherein a user may submit user data (e.g., a question). FIG. 2 shows the Web page loaded into the user""s Web browser when the question shown in FIG. 1 is transmitted to the ASKJEEVES.COM(copyright) Web site.
However, as can be seen, these tools suffer from similar problems to those of the Internet search engines. First, the user""s Web browser is pointed away from the host Web page which the user was viewing when he or she first asked the question, and a new Web page associated with www.askjeeves.com is loaded instead into the user""s Web browser. Second, in the example shown, the Web page provided in response to the user""s question doesn""t answer the user""s very simple question at all. Instead, it merely contains hyperlinks to other Web pages which seem to have something, generally, to do with the subject matter of the question. Moreover, in this example, there are Web pages available from the Internet which contain a very specific answer to the user""s question, e.g., http://www.homearts.com/pm/diybuzz/071awnb5.htm, shown in FIG. 3, and http://www.aboutliving.com/Apr. 12, 1999/balancedmoneyxe2x80x94LawnMowerTuneUpMadeEasy.html. But the user is not provided with these answers by this process and must continue his or her search.
Also, it is not practical with current technology for a single automated Web page tool to give an automated response to xe2x80x9cplain languagexe2x80x9d questions covering the vast variety of subjects for which users may have inquiries.
Yet another problem is that the specific information which the Internet user is seeking may not even be available from any Web page or any information stored on a Web site. In that case, the conventional tools and methods of locating and obtaining information of interest via the Internet will necessarily be ineffective.
Accordingly, it would be advantageous to provide a method and system of receiving user data, such as a xe2x80x9cplain languagexe2x80x9d question, from an Internet user via a host Web page without driving the Internet user away from the host Web page. It would also be advantageous to provide a method and system of processing xe2x80x9cplain languagexe2x80x9d questions received from a user computer via the Internet. Other and further objects and advantages will appear hereinafter.
The present invention comprises a method and system for processing user data, such as interrogatories, received from a user computer via the Internet.
In one aspect of the invention, a host Web page includes an evolving interactive dialog box wherein an Internet user may enter user data, such as a question, to be processed. After the user enters data into a user data entry box of a first revolution of the evolving interactive dialog box, the first revolution is replaced with a second revolution without disturbing or affecting any other part of the host Web page being displayed by the user""s computer. Thus, the user is not driven or distracted away from the host Web site while submitting user data via the Internet to be processed.
In a further aspect of the invention, a method of processing user data comprises communicating across the Internet to a user computer a host Web page including a banner comprising a first dialog box, displaying the host Web page at the user computer, entering first user data into the first dialog box, indicating that the first user data has been completely entered into the first dialog box, and replacing the first dialog box with a second dialog box while display of a remainder of the host Web page on the user computer is not changed.
In another aspect of the invention, a method of processing a question, comprises communicating across the Internet a host Web page including a banner comprising a first dialog box to a user computer, displaying the Web page at the user computer, entering the question into the first dialog box, replacing the first dialog box with a second dialog box while display of a remainder of the host Web page by the user computer is not changed, entering into the second dialog box a destination for receiving an answer to the question, communicating the question and the destination across the Internet to an interrogation processing system, and replacing the second dialog box with a third dialog box.
In yet another aspect of the invention, a method of communicating user data from a user computer to a selected sponsor comprises providing to the user computer a Web page including a data entry box for receiving the user data, entering the user data into the data entry box on the Web page, communicating the user data across the Internet from the user computer to an information processing system, determining the selected sponsor based at least in part upon the user data, and forwarding the user data from the information processing system to the selected sponsor, particularly via the Internet.
In still another aspect of the invention, a computer-implemented system for processing a question comprises a user computer displaying a Web page which includes a dialog box for entering the question, an interrogation processing system, and a plurality of sponsor Web sites each associated with one or more categories of questions, wherein the interrogation processing system receives the question from the user computer and forwards the question, particularly via the Internet, to one of the plurality of sponsors which is selected at least in part based upon an attribute of the question.